Partner Choice Patterns Among the Descendants of Turkish Immigrants in Europe

We examine the partner choice patterns of second-generation Turks in 13 European cities in seven countries. We not only compare intermarriage versus endogamous marriage, but also explicitly include the choice of a second-generation partner of the same origin and of a partner of other migrant origin as important alternatives. In Europe, populations are made up increasingly of migrants and their descendants resulting in new alternative partner options not open before. Findings suggest that second-generation Turks who choose a second-generation partner seem to be located between the partner choice of a first-generation and native partner in terms of family values and contact to non-coethnic peers. The choice of a partner of other migrant origin hardly differs in these characteristics from the choice of a native partner. Context variables such as group size and type of integration policies seem to play a role for the likelihood of having a first-generation versus a second-generation partner of Turkish origin but not for the likelihood of exogamous partner choice. A second-generation partner is the most popular choice in Germany but represents a minor option in the other countries. Furthermore, a partner of other migrant origin is more common among men but is in some countries more popular than a native partner among Turkish second-generation men and women.     

Exact Likelihood Ratio Testing for Homogeneity of the Exponential Distribution

The aim of this article is to discuss homogeneity testing of the exponential distribution. We introduce the exact likelihood ratio test of homogeneity in the subpopulation model, ELR, and the exact likelihood ratio test of homogeneity against the two-components subpopulation alternative, ELR2. The ELR test is asymptotically optimal in the Bahadur sense when the alternative consists of sampling from a fixed number of components. Thus, in some setups the ELR is superior to frequently used tests for exponential homogeneity which are based on the EM algorithm (like the MLRT, ADDS, and D-tests). One important example of superiority of ELR and ELR2 tests is the case of lower contamination. We demonstrate this fact by both theoretical comparisons and simulations.     

Bayesian estimation and stochastic model specification search for dynamic survival models

Dynamic survival models are a useful extension of the popular Cox model as the effects of explanatory variables are allowed to change over time. In this paper a new auxiliary mixture sampler for Bayesian estimation of the model parameters is introduced. This sampler forms the basis of a model space MCMC method for stochastic model specification search in dynamic survival models, which involves selection of covariates to include in the model as well as specification of effects as time-varying or constant. The method is applied to two well-known data sets from the literature.     

Ritual abuse: A definition

This paper presents a brief definition of ritual abuse, drawn from a process of conversation and reflection between practitioners and academics of various kinds. The authors' aim has been to work towards a definition which is clear and concise in its expression, yet very broad in its range of application. The definition itself therefore concentrates on distilling out the essence of ritual abuse from the cases known to us, and avoids making any assumptions about motivation, effect, type of belief system or symbolic network, number of people involved, etc.; indeed, anything which might unnecessarily rule out an empirical instance from consideration. In effect, we have assumed that we do not know the full range of instances which might be termed ritual abuse, and so have resisted the temptation of universalizing the details of concrete cases known to us. In this way, we hope that we have come up with a theoretical definition which might allow us to recognize empirical instances which do not conform to our expectations based on past experience. We have, however, included some observations based on the experience of the group. These detail what we believe to be common aspects of ritual abuse as it has so far been identified in cases of which we are aware. The observations do not form part of the definition proper, but should aid the recognition of ritual abuse, if read together with it.     

The Role of Quality of Life Surveys in Managing Change in Democratic Transitions: The South African Case

The South African Quality of Life Project hastracked subjective well-being, lifesatisfaction and happiness, since the earlyeighties at the national level. In mostdemocratic countries around the globe, theaverage citizen says he or she is satisfiedwith life in general. In South Africa this isnot the case. Since the early 1980s, thetrend study shows up disparities between onesector of the South African population that issatisfied with life in general and variousaspects of life and another sector that is verydissatisfied. Generally, the better-off reporthigher levels of satisfaction and happinessthan the worse-off.The most plausible explanation for the SouthAfrican quality-of-life constellation is thehuge gap in living standards between rich andpoor, a legacy of the apartheid era, whichdiscriminated against blacks and to a lesserextent against Indian and coloured people.Euphoria following on the first democraticelections in April 1994, which registeredequally high aggregate levels of happiness andlife satisfaction among all sectors of thepopulation, was short-lived. Under democracy,expectations ``for a better life for all'’, theelection slogans for the 1994 and 1999 generalelections, has risen. South Africa has one ofthe most enlightened constitutions, whichguarantees basic human rights and supportsadvancement of the previously disadvantaged. Aslong as South Africans perceive barriers toaccessing the material rewards of democracy,they do not see justice has been done.South Africa is currently grappling withproblems common to other societies intransition to democracy. Since 1994, governmentprogrammes and policies have been devised toaddress the critical twin problems of povertyand inequality in society. The latest round ofresearch for the South African Quality of LifeTrends Project probes popular assessments ofthe policies and programmes aimed at improvingthe quality of life of ordinary South Africans.Interviews with a panel of 25 opinion leadersin the run-up to the June 1999 generalelections were followed by a nationallyrepresentative opinion survey in October 1999.The paper outlines the role of socialindicators in monitoring quality of life inSouth Africa and reports findings from theelite and rank-and-file surveys. Generally, thewinners and losers in the new politicaldispensation see changes from a differentperspective. The disadvantaged are more likelyto have seen material gains and recommendincreased delivery of services andopportunities for social mobility. Theadvantaged, who have mainly experiencednon-material or no gains since 1994, are morelikely to be pessimistic about the future. Itis concluded that the groundswell of optimismwill sustain the majority of South Africans whoare still dissatisfied with life until theirdreams of the good life are fulfilled.     

Life Paths of Migrants: A Sequence Analysis of Polish Migrants’ Family Life Trajectories

After Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004, Polish migration within Europe has increased considerably. Still, little is known about this large and growing group of immigrants. Using unique panel data from the Dutch population registers, we first apply sequence analysis to explore and describe the variety of family life courses among young adult (aged 20–30 at migration) Polish migrants in the Netherlands. Each individual family life career is followed for a 5-year period on a monthly time base. Optimal matching analysis is applied to compute (dis)similarities between individuals, in order to cluster into predominant life paths. Second, a series of logistic regression analyses were carried out to determine the main factors of importance on the different family life paths. Findings showed a strong impact of the partner’s origin on the type of union and likelihood of return migration. Unemployment was found to be another important trigger of return migration. With regard to gender differences, we found that men are more likely to remain single and to leave the Netherlands at some point, while women more often cohabit and tend to stay.     

Predicting burrowing owl flight trajectories in urban environments

Urban Ecosystems - It is important to understand how animals respond to changes in landscape structure, especially when considering habitat alteration and urbanization. Using the burrowing owl...